What Does Asake's New Deal With Empire Mean?

The Afropop shining star is ready to enter the next phase of his career. His new deal with Empire is the impetus that would propel him into global superstardom.

American record label and distribution company, Empire, announced the signing of fast-rising singer, Asake, on Twitter yesterday. The deal comes six months after Asake first burst onto the scene.

We have yet to see any artiste blow up this quickly in recent times. Asake’s run has been nothing short of impeccable. Since he popped up, Asake has scored six number one hit singles on Apple Music Top 100 Nigeria chart. His latest charting song, which he was featured on, is Fireboy’s Bandana, which comes from Fireboy’s upcoming album, Playboy.

Asake broke into the mainstream with Omo Ope, a single that featured YBNL boss and one of Nigeria’s greatest musicians, Olamide. Shortly after, while Omo Ope was dominating charts and airplay, Olamide announced signing Asake to YBNL with a video. In the video, both Olamide and Asake were in the studio, while a song played in the background. That song later turned out to be Sungba, which was on Asake’s debut EP, Ololade Asake.

Sungba rose to popularity after the release of the EP. The audience was fascinated by Asake’s raw style and his delivery. Just as Sungba continued to gain acclaim, Burna hopped on the remix of the song, furthering the song’s reach into a wider market. It soon became clear that Asake was simply unstoppable. Olamide had unleashed another star yet again.

What Does The New Empire Deal Mean for Asake?

Empire is an American independent record label and distribution company based in San Francisco. Its Nigerian roster includes artists like Kizz Daniel, Wande Coal, Fireboy, Olamide, and more.

Its American roster includes artists like D Smoke, Yung Bleu, Rotimi, and many others. It also distributes for Kendrick Lamar’s former label, Top Dawg Entertainment.

In 2020, Olamide took to Twitter to announce that YBNL and Empire had signed a joint venture deal. What this means is that any artist that is signed to YBNL is automatically signed to Empire.

A joint venture (commonly known as JV), according to Investopedia, is a business arrangement in which two or more parties agree to pool their resources for the purpose of accomplishing a specific task. This task can be a new project or any other business activity.

When it comes to the music industry, a JV means that both parties that form the partnership would share the responsibility for the production of records as well as marketing and promotion of the records. The agreement between both parties determine how the responsibilities are divided.

In this case, I believe that Empire as a major independent label has the finances to fund the artists while YBNL’s primary focus is to scout emerging artists and help the artists with artist development until they’re primed to release music. Empire also has reach in foreign territories like the US and the UK, which means they would heavily market and promote these artists in these developed markets, helping them push their music beyond African boundaries.

Now that we have a better understanding of how joint venture deals work, let’s talk about what YBNL and Empire’s Joint Venture means for Asake.

Looking at Fireboy DML’s career, the singer released his debut album, LTG (Laughter, Tears and Goosebumps), in 2019, it was distributed under YBNL. That was before YBNL and Empire joined forces. In 2020, after the partnership, Fireboy DML’s sophomore album, Apollo, was distributed under the canopy of both parties (YBNL/Empire). On Apollo, you could hear Fireboy’s attempt at appealing to foreign markets. He even got a feature with rapper, D-Smoke (who happens to be one of the artists on Empire’s roster).

In 2021, Olamide, after releasing UY scuti, went on an American tour. While in the US, Olamide and Fireboy DML attended and performed at the BET Weekend brunch. It’s one of the many perks of the partnership between the two labels. Fireboy DML has since become one of the Afropop acts at the forefront on a global level.

Asake’s music is already making its way into the western market. After the release of Sungba remix, Burna Boy’s fans, especially in the UK, have begun to pay attention to the rising star. With the success of his debut EP, which I’m guessing was a test run for Empire to see that Asake is worth investing in, Empire is undoubtedly going to take Asake to the next level.

I’m curious to see what Asake drops next, if he’s going to change his style in a bid to gain ground in foreign markets. I’m particularly curious because, unlike Fireboy, Asake’s sound is indigenous. He sings largely in his Yoruba dialect, which is mostly what endeared him to music listeners. But I’m confident that with the help of Olamide, Asake would figure it out.

I can’t wait for Asake to start performing his songs all over the US and Europe. He is such an amazing and ardent performer.